Grammar

Question

I hope this will make you happy and this will not be forgotten.

If I shorten this, which one is right?

1. I hope this will make you happy and will not be forgotten.

2. I hope this will make you happy, and will not be forgotten.

3. I hope this will make you happy and not be forgotten.

4. I hope this will make you happy, and not be forgotten.

Thanks for your help!

Andriy Lapin · Accepted Answer

Hello, Mariott,

mariott1. I hope this will make you happy and will not be forgotten.- correct; no comma before and when the subject of the second clause is ellipted, as shown by the materials in the Survey of English Usage.

2. I hope this will make you happy, and will not be forgotten.- correct, but less preferable because of the comma (in fact, much rarer than #1)

3. I hope this will make you happy and not be forgotten.- incorrect, the first verb phrase is positive, while the second one is negative; therefore, will should not be ellipted

4. I hope this will make you happy, and not be forgotten.- incorrect, comma + ~~will~~

Respectfully, Gleb Chebrikoff

Yankee · Answer

Hi Mariott

I don't think any of those are actually wrong.
I would probably not repeat the word "will".

BarbaraPA · Answer

I agree with Amy - none seem incorrect to me, though I would probably combine "will not" to make "won't."

It's true the comma isn't needed, but that the difference between what the rulebook says is correct (don't separate the subject from the verb with a comma) and using writing to read the way it would sound; there would naturally be a pause there, and the comma makes that clear.

(Grammar aside, I find it an odd thing to say. It sounds like it's something being given rather resentfully, with an unstated aspect that says "You'd better be grateful for what I'm doing for you.")

Yankee · Answer

Grammar GeekI find it an odd thing to say.

The sentence struck me as being odd, too.

As for using the word "won't", yes, that's a good alternative.

Mariott · Answer

Thanks Gleb Chebrikoff, Yankee, and Grammar Geek!

Clive · Answer

Hi,

I hope this will make you happy and this will not be forgotten.

If I shorten this, which one is right?

1. I hope this will make you happy and will not be forgotten. OK

2. I hope this will make you happy, and will not be forgotten. OK

3. I hope this will make you happy and not be forgotten. No

4. I hope this will make you happy, and not be forgotten. No

Clive

Andriy Lapin · Answer

The resulting four sentences all feature ellipsis and coordination of verb phrases. If we reconstruct the first two sentences to their original form, we'll get

I hope this [will make you happy] and this [will not be forgotten].

However, if we attempt to perform the same operation with the last two sentences, we'll get the following ungrammatical utterance:

*I hope this [will make you happy] and this [not be forgotten].

The reason is that we need to coordinate phrases of equal structure, namely, [will make you happy] and [will not be forgotten], and not [will make you happy] and [not be forgotten].

Respectfully, Gleb Chebrikoff

Yankee · Answer

Gleb_ChebrikoffI hope this [will make you happy] and this [will not be forgotten].

No matter where you put the brackets, there is a non-negated verb in the first half (make) and a negated verb (not be) in the second half.

I hope [this will make you happy] and [this will not be forgotten]
I hope this [will make you happy] and this [will not be forgotten]
I hope this will [make you happy] and this will [not be forgotten]

The words "this" and "will" are repeated in all three of the bracketed versions above. We don't actually "need" to repeat either one of those words.

Elimination of the repeated words produces this:

I hope this will [make you happy] and [not be forgotten]

Yankee · Answer

YankeeI hope this will [make you happy] and [not be forgotten]

Hi Gleb

If you reject the sentence in the quote, then it seems to me that you would also have to reject the following sentence, for example:

- For the last three hours he has been playing with his Xbox and not doing his homework.

Filling in the omitted words in the sentence above is actually less straightforward than in Mariott's sentence (the one in the quote):

- For the last three hours he has been playing with his Xbox and not doing his homework. =
- For the last three hours he has been playing with his Xbox and [he has] not [been] doing his homework.

So, tell me, do you also reject the Xbox sentence?

Andriy Lapin · Answer

Hello, Amy,

rejecting any of the sentences and condemning them as absolutely incorrect would be a serious flaw in linguistic thinking, but we may still make use of these categories (correct/incorrect) when explaining neat areas of grammar to our students - for the sake of teaching expediency.
Enclosing into brackets this element or that is important in that it shows what potential conjoins are to be dealt with - in my book, we deal with predicates, but, according to your understanding, the predications are in question. If the latter approach is adopted, we indeed recognise the possibility of ellipsis. However, the stumbling stone in our case is the issue of negation. There is a negated verb in the second clause - I couldn't agree with you more (although, I must note that it is will that is negated, and not be), but this circumstance imposes additional constraints on our ellipting will - in case of it disappearing, the essential linkage between the operator and the negator will be smudged. Omitting the operator does not prevent us from understanding the message conveyed in the sentence, but crossing will out is likely to occur in the impromptu use of language.

Your counter-example is intended to support your point, but it features parallel verb phrases in terms of their voice and, just as you acknowledge it, 'filling in the omitted words in the sentence ... is actually less straightforward than in Mariott's sentence'. The lack of transparency urges speakers to produce a shorter utterance in the second clause, and this is perfectly consistent with the way language works. Moreover, 'will not be forgotten' is a short passive phrase that is likely to occur in the elevated use of the language.

Several contributors have commented on this issue, and the opinions they have expressed can be summarised as follows: 1. leave will in place; 2. cross out will; 3. better leave will in place but merge it with the negator to make won't; 4. leave will in place. It is easy to see that the majority of commentators favour will over ~~will~~, and this should be taken into account.

Finally, would you please give your view on the following sentence:

The spy was in his forties and of average build.

Thank you for your opinion.

Respectfully, Gleb Chebrikoff

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